Splintered Fate (5 page)

You show no fear
or hesitation with the blood soaked power hungry Kirill Dukran, who
you will be locked in a room with later today, but your own father
makes you tremble,
he
observed.

Lana continued walking, pretending
not to have noticed Ardin’s remark. They walked down the halls,
which felt infinitely shorter then they had earlier that morning.
Lana hated upsetting Valdor, and it didn't help that he had a way
about him that caused her to feel truly small. She was dreading
this. His thoughts on the mornings events were bound to be
unpleasant.

A guard outside her father’s room
took note of the three of them approaching and silently opened the
door. Earmon entered immediately, while Lana paused outside, taking
in a deep breath before entering her father’s room. Ardin followed
closely behind.

The curtains in the room were
pulled back, allowing for sunlight to brighten the otherwise dark
space. Valdor sat at a large desk which was littered with papers,
maps, and various important things. The room had stone walls and
tall bookshelves stood to the side of the desk, filled with books
which belonged to the Sterlings. The bed was off to the side and
that entire area remained dark despite the large window behind the
desk. It looked almost like two separate rooms, yet there was
nothing concretely separating the two.

As they entered, Valdor’s brown
eyes shot up and he stood from his seat. With a painfully slow
stride he walked a few steps around his wooden desk, proceeding to
casually lean on the edge with one hand casually clasping his other
wrist in front of him. The sun glistened off of his dark hair,
further highlighting the grey in his temples. His brown eyes were
focused solely on Lana. For a breath the room was entirely
still.

“
Lana, my
darling, my wise daughter. What have you been
getting into this morning?” The kindness laced in his voice was
particularly misleading.

Lana’s throat
went dry,
we are in trouble,
she thought.

No, you are in
trouble.
Ardin
corrected.

She wanted to kick him, but
instead began trying to explain with a soft voice, “Father I
decided to go on a short walk to clear my head befo…”

“
And is it?” Valdor
interrupted.

Lana stood before him with a
confused expression, loosing her train of thought. Her father
continued, “Your head, has it been cleared?”

Heat rose to her cheeks and her
face flushed as she looked at the ground “yes” she gave a small
reply.

Ardin simply sat off to the side
watching the exchange. He was amazed how Lana, one so willful and
strong could be weakened and frightful of the one person she could
be sure would never harm her. She had transformed from a strong
woman to a small child in one short morning.

“
Oh really? You think having a
public outburst with Kirill Dukran is something a person with a
clear head might do?” He asked with a calm questioning voice, as if
this were truly a question that he hadn’t known the answer
to.

Lana kept her eyes down, avoiding
Valdor’s powerful gaze. “I didn’t mean to…”

“
You very much did mean to. For
the love of our lands Lana, today of all days, you do realize the
Dukrans are a very powerful family? They are powerful, gifted as
Madonians. Many greatly admire and respect that family
an--”

“
They are monsters!” Lana blurted
out, unable to stop herself. Hearing her father tell her how loved
the Dukrans are was unbearable. She felt sick with hate for that
family.

“
Enough!” Valdor slammed his large
hand on the wooden desk “You will never say that out loud again!”
his voice boomed throughout the room.

Both Ardin and Lana flinched.
Valdor’s hand reached to his temples, rubbing them for a moment
with closed eyes before turning back to Lana. With an even tone he
continued, “You are not a child Lana, nor are you a stupid girl. At
the very least I didn’t raise you to behave in this manner with a
member of the Madonian council. So, why would you act like you did
this morning? It baffles me. There is no point in telling you what
you did was wrong, nor is there much time for nonsense.” His brown
eyes pinned her while he spoke. There was such power behind his
gaze, it was unbelievable. “You and Kirill were friends a long time
ago. If anyone had some form of persuasion with him, it may have
been you. You don’t have to like him Lana, but you shouldn’t be
building enemies. Nor should you belittle him in front of an
audience! The Dukran are a proud family, you know this.” Valdor
paused. His thick brows pulled together as if in
thought.

Lana didn’t know what to say so
she simply stared at a small wooden wolf figurine on his desk,
avoiding eye contact. She felt guilt, for disappointing her father,
anger because of the Dukrans, and incredible frustration for
everyone referring to her childhood friendship with Kirill. As if
the distant friendship some how made everything better or more
important. As if she and Kirill could ever be friends again. Lana
felt that their entire once upon a time friendship was completely
irrelevant to the events of today.

Only when Valdor sighed did she
allow herself to again meet his gaze. “You have ten minutes to go
gather what senses you have lost this morning. You will keep to
yourself in today’s council meeting unless you are directly spoken
to, and even then you are to speak as little as possible. I do not
need to worry about you today.”

Lana was looking at the ground
again. Tears had begun to pool in her eyes. She glanced up at her
father. “He said mother was incompetent and a coward.”

Valdor exhaled a long breath,
looking at his daughter a moment before replying, “Your mother was
a great woman. What anyone else says about her should not affect
you. She wouldn’t want her memory to be the reason you are made a
fool.”

Lana simply nodded in response.
For a moment her eyes held Valdor’s gaze. Neither one moved or said
a word. The space between them was filled with dust that glimmered
in the light seeping in from the window. The dust danced in the
silence between them. Moving in every direction the current of air
carried it. It was not weighed down by gravity, by the world. What
freedom, to be able to float through the world, to glimmer in the
sunlight.

“
You look more like her every
day,” Valdor said in a soft tone, looking at his daughter for a
moment with an unusual gentleness in his eyes. The soft pause
lasted only a moment before Valdor turned away, returning to the
work at his desk. “Now go, I’ll meet you in the Grand hall in ten
minutes, and make sure your head’s on straight.”

* * *

He sat in the simple chair provided
for him as though he was sitting on a throne. Soon all of the lands
would be under his command. Soon he would become king and no one
would ever dare to stand in his way.

Spinning the ring on his finger around
and around, he smiled to himself, admiring his trophy. The ring was
gold, engraved with the sigil of the family he had single handedly
butchered. It was a proud moment indeed, one that provided a
valuable stepping stone for the future that he saw for himself. The
Madonian Council was too naive to ever realize what he had done.
They had been completely oblivious to the truth that had always
been in front of them. He laughed to himself, at how easy
everything was going to be for him.

War was about to begin. All of the
pieces were falling into place so perfectly. No one, not even the
idiotic Casteels would be able to stop what he had in store, and if
they dared to try then he was going to make sure that it would be
the last time they ever stood in his way.

With a smile he gave the ring a final
spin, centering it on his finger, and stood. With the flick of his
hand two black wolves formed before him. He smiled at the glorious
beasts. 

This day was going to go down in
history, this day was going to be the start of the war that would
change everything. He was going to create his kingdom on the blood
and rubble left behind.

* * *

Lana looked out over the ocean
while the warm sun glistened over the waves. Ardin sat beside her
on the balcony, in the great archways of the heart of the castle.
The two of them existed near one another in a relaxed and welcome
silence. Watching the rhythmic movement of the ocean next to her
Aorra was therapeutic, soothing to her racing mind.

“
Do you think there’s anything out
there?” Lana asked Ardin in wonder. Her eyes scanned over the
ocean.

Our people have sailed the seas
and have not found anything yet.

“
But what about beyond the sea,
the stars.”

I know no more
than you? Why do you ask?
Ardin shifted
his gaze from the glistening ocean to Lana.

“
I just sometimes wonder. The
small moon is the school we went to years ago. I remember speaking
to the instructors there, learning from them. One of them once
mentioned that they were not from our lands, surely there might be
more things out there.”

Ardin nodded in understanding. He
gazed at Lana while she was deep in thought. She’d had a rough
morning but her day was far from over.

The instructor
was probably just telling you a story. But we can speak all
philosophically about this after the council meeting is
over.
He tried to reel her in, get her
focused on the meeting that was only minutes away.
I will give you a moment to yourself. I will wait
for you out front.

Lana felt Ardin leave her mind as
he walked back through the massive archway that separated the two
castle sides and she was left alone. She breathed in a deep breath,
filling her lungs with salted air, holding her breath for a moment
before releasing it with a sigh. It felt as if heaviness had
enveloped her and there was no escape. Over the past few days it
had seemed that everything she did was somehow important and yet
always wrong.

Out of the corner of her eye Lana saw
something move. She turned her attention to a small lizard. White
with black markings striped its small body, the tip of its tail was
red and the top of its head was also red. She watched the little
creature bravely make its way to her and stop at the railing near
her hand. It appeared to be looking right into her eyes.

“
Odd little thing,” Lana
commented, moving her hand closer to the small creature. A small
tongue flicked out of its mouth, tickling her finger. She giggled
slightly and removed her hand, still looking at the peculiar little
lizard. Never having seen a lizard like this in her lands before,
she mused over where it must have come from. It must be one that
was found only in the southern lands. If she had found the little
guy when she was a child she surely would have tried to catch it
and keep it as a pet.

“
Be careful that you don’t get
stepped on or eaten by a bird, little lizard,” she whispered to it.
As if it understood, the creature scurried across the railing and
began climbing away on the castle’s stonewall. She watched it until
it disappeared from her view and her eyes turned back to the
sea.

Lana took one last look at the
horizon, where the massive ocean met the even larger sky. She
turned her gaze to where the small moon could be seen in the
distance. A small wave of emotion came over her at the sight of it,
followed by the memories that accompanied that place. Lana pushed
the thoughts away with a small shake of her head, returning her
attention to the water below. This was not the time to think of her
past, to wonder what could have been if the world were different.
Now, she had to remain calm and collected.

After one final look over the water, Lana
turned and walked towards the front of the castle, her dress
blowing in the salty breeze behind her.

Ardin lounged, basking in the sun
while waiting for Lana to join him.

Ready?
She asked him when she
approached.

Born
ready.
He replied lightly and they started
towards the grand room, located on the Sterling’s side of the
Castle. Lana saw her father standing in the hall with Earmon,
waiting for her and Ardin. When she approached they began walking
without word till they reached a massive doorway. The double doors
leading into the room were made of dark wood, carved with an
intricate weaved pattern. They were already open on their arrival.
Two guards with hawks engraved on their steel chest plates stood
like statues outside the doors.

Lana entered the
grand room with Valdor
, their Aorras
following at their heels. The grand room was smaller than Lana
imagined, due to Cyra Sterling’s customary overly grand rooms and
castle. However, it was true to its name as
grand,
with walls taller than the
room was wide. It was a round room, which Lana found odd, being in
a room without corners. The round sky light in the ceiling was the
only window to the outside.